Calgary Flames Sam Bennett during practice getting ready for the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Al Charest/Postmedia

Sam Bennett has shown the sandpaper and snark, has proven he can play as prickly as that moustache that he often sports.

Thing is, the Calgary Flames’ forward — re-upped Wednesday to a two-year deal worth US$2.55 million per winter— remains determined to emerge as an offensive difference-maker.

“I think that at a young age, everybody wants to be the next superstar,” said Bennett, a restricted free-agent who had been scheduled for an arbitration faceoff this weekend. “But sometimes it takes some time, and I still think that I have tons to prove.

“There is a lot I think I can bring. With my competitive edge, I think I’m going to be able to play that hard-nosed hockey. I still want to be a guy that puts up numbers and is offensive but can be relied on to play that two-way game. I don’t see there being any reason why I can’t reach that, and I’m really looking forward to this season and proving that I can.”

Bennett hasn’t been the scoring standout that most had in mind when he was selected with the fourth-overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, but that hasn’t stopped No. 93 from becoming a fan favourite at the Saddledome.

Last winter, the third-line winger racked up 121 hits — he was among a hat-trick of Flames in triple-digits — and dropped his mitts for a team-high five fights. He chipped in 13 goals and 14 assists in 71 regular-season appearances and was on the oh-so-short list of guys to elevate their games during a first-round playoff flop, leading the charge with five points.

Thanks especially to his solid spring showing, it feels like you can’t find a sports bar, grocery-store check-out or practice green where an armchair skipper isn’t preaching that the Flames should give Bennett a look in a first- or second-line role.

That is precisely what the 23-year-old is shooting for.

“I think when you are in the top-six, you do get a little more opportunity and icetime and everything. I think if you ask anyone, they want that,“ Bennett said. “But that doesn’t mean I’d change my game. I would still play a hard-nosed, physical type of game, no matter what position or what role I’m playing.”

Bennett is a more important piece for the Flames than the numbers would suggest — a guy more than willing to crash and bang on a team that doesn’t have a lot of that.

He is never going to leapfrog Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk on the depth chart at left wing, but his ability to play all three forward positions could open alternate routes to an expanded role.

Flames head coach Bill Peters loves to use the blender, and Bennett is an obvious candidate for in-game promotion because of the spark he can provide.

“To me, what Sam did last year is he is sort of, with each year that goes by, carving out a real role for himself,” praised Flames general manager Brad Treliving. “In Sam’s case, you come in as a fourth-overall pick and there is lots of pressure, lots of expectations, lots of this, lots of that … To me, what I keep seeing is a guy who is just learning and maturing and helping a team win and finding ways to help a team win.

“Hey, you always hope that every player continues to find another level of offence and I think, like I said, when you have the peg of fourth-overall, the immediate expectation is all the offensive numbers and offensive production, and I think Sam put a lot of pressure on himself to do that. Now, he’s matured with experience, with time in the league, with each year getting a little older, of finding different ways — sometimes it’s offence, sometimes it’s other ways — of just being a good player on a team that can win.”

The Flames won gobs of regular-season games during the 2018-19 campaign, claiming the top seed in the Western Conference.

They won just one playoff date.

Needless to say, they’re hoping their next spring stay last a whole lot longer. The belief is Bennett can be a big part of that.

“He has shown that when it’s important and usually when it’s tight and when it’s hard, he has been really good,” Treliving said. “Now, the challenge for Sam — as it is a lot of players — is stringing that consistency together. You want to keep the highs but you want to flatten out the lows and keep a consistent level where you’re not going stretches of trying to re-capture your game. I thought he did a better job of that last year. I don’t look at it just strictly from the numbers. I think his competitive level is always there, but I thought his consistency level in terms of his impact on games was better. That’s another sign of growth and maturity.”

Now inked for two more winters, still anxious to prove his production can match his prickle, Bennett is bullish on what lies ahead.

“We showed it last year — we have the pieces to be one of the top teams in this league,” he said. “It was a huge disappointment (in the playoffs) last year with all the success we were having, and I know everyone still has a little bit of bitter taste in their mouth. It’s going to be a fun year — I definitely know that.”

With Bennett signed, netminder David Rittich is the Flames’ lone remaining arbitration case. (Their top priority among restricted free-agents is Tkachuk, but he does not have arbitration rights.)

The Flames have roughly US$7.4 million in projected cap-space, but Treliving has two-plus months to manoeuvre.

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